Overview

We were approached by Marcura, a leader in the maritime space, that already had a solid offering for an eWallet solution tailored to the seafarer ecosystem. Due to various strategic reasons, they wanted to explore new potential vendors for an end-to-end solution that could fulfil their niche requirements.

Although they already had the support of an excellent external consultant for various projects, they needed to introduce some formality to the process to communicate effectively to all stakeholders throughout the process; especially since they were operating on a tight timeline.

While Marcura already had done some internal work to identify potential vendors, senior management wanted to make sure that the whole market had been thoroughly researched before making such a key strategic decision with lasting consequences. They were already in advanced discussions with one party that they had narrowed down, but needed to have a broader approach to ensure they were in touch with both large and small players that could fulfil their niche set of requirements.

Our Approach

We established a detailed process to have an exhaustive approach to vendor selection:

1. A comprehensive project timeline to ensure that all stakeholders were kept updated

2. Clear identification of key criteria with an associated vendor scorecard

3. Draft communication to formalise the reach-out process

4. Initial calls conducted by the team at Flow to minimise time required by Marcura's team

5. Clear funnel of almost 50 vendors by business requirements

Results

After a through review of the market for eWallet vendors we contacted almost 50 potential vendors within the first 1-2 weeks, following a detailed discussion with the Marcura senior team to identify the most important factors given there were so many criteria at play.

Following initial calls which were conducted by the team at Flow, we quickly narrowed down the funnel as many players were unable to meet the key requirements of the demanding solution. And after several rounds of further calls and initial negotiations, we finally presented two competing solutions to the client.

Marcura is now well underway towards building out their next generation payments solution with the help of their new vendor with the expectation to deliver a product to truly revolutionise fintech for this niche audience.

About Marcura

Marcura is the company behind several of the leading solutions and brands that are streamlining processes in the maritime industry. For the last 21 years, Marcura has been developing a series of innovative software solutions and platforms that have been digitally transforming the massive maritime market.

Marcura has over 650 clients, makes over $10B of payments on behalf of customers every year, and employs nearly 800 team members – all committed to supporting the front-line of the maritime industry.

Founded in 2001 on the principles of independence and transparency, Marcua is headquartered in Dubai, but operates fully globally.

About Flow Partners

Flow Partners is a modern advisory firm providing independent corporate finance advice to companies and investors that shape the global digital ecosystem. Flow was founded in 2020 and operates globally with presence in London, Berlin, Warsaw and Miami.

For more information, please visit flowpartners.io

Enquiries

For all enquiries please contact the team at [email protected]